


Throwing Caution

by Starkurt



Category: Glee
Genre: Friendship/Love, M/M, Short One Shot, Slice of Life, Tree Climbing Fic lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:55:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26131501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starkurt/pseuds/Starkurt
Summary: Late season 3-- Kurt and Dave have bonded post 3x14, and are now rather good friends. Based on a Tumblr prompt, and was originally posted years ago (but has a fresh coat of paint)
Relationships: Kurt Hummel & David Karofsky, Kurt Hummel/David Karofsky
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	Throwing Caution

The sound of a camera shutter clicked softly, followed immediately by the now-expected huff of distaste as Kurt reviewed the photo.

“Seriously?” Dave asked, rolling his eyes at his friend’s back as the boy stood up, his shoes scuffing against the dirt. “Literally every picture you show me looks great. It’s high school photography, not National Geographic.”

Even from behind, Dave could feel Kurt roll his eyes back at him. “I’m a perfectionist, David,” he replied, stepping a few feet to the side and kneeling back down, pointing his camera back at the lake in front of them. “I can’t get the angle right. It certainly doesn’t help that the longer this takes, the more light I lose.”

A few silent moments passed followed by another shutter click, and another discontent groan. Dave let out a soft laugh at it, though it was more out of hysterics than amusement.

This time, Kurt stood up and turned around, shooting Dave a glare. Biting back a smile, Dave cocked his head innocently, earning him another scoff.

“I don’t know why you came if you’re just going to make fun of me the entire time,” the other boy said, shifting his focus to his camera display as he undoubtedly went to delete the last fifteen minutes of work. 

“I’m not making fun of you,” Dave replied, feeling a small twinge of regret pull at his gut. Stepping over to where Kurt was, Dave moved behind his friend and looked over his shoulder as picture after picture scrolled by. Genuinely, he thought all the pictures looked near identical, with only the angle or exposure having changed slightly between them. However, he wasn’t an artist by any means, and he assumed Kurt knew what he was looking for, as weirdly specific as it seemed to be.

The scrolling had come to a stop, and Dave noticed Kurt’s gaze had shifted upwards. He followed the boy’s gaze, which directed his attention to the tree they had been standing in front of. As Kurt opened his mouth to speak, his friend’s idea clicked in his mind.

"You can't be serious.”

Kurt was already stepping forward. “I need to be higher.”

“Then get on my shoulders.” Dave offered, watching as Kurt tucked an arm through his camera strap, spinning it around so it instead hung snug against his back. He was reaching out a hand to grip a low branch when Dave moved forward, placing his hand below Kurt's shoulders. “Hey, your boyfriend already doesn’t like me. Last thing I need is to tell him you died when we went to the lake alone.”

Kurt swatted him away, but dropped his hand, turning to look at Dave before gazing back up at the tree. Dave stared at him, his worried thoughts quickly being taken over by a selfish admiration for how gorgeous Kurt looked in the dimming light. Feeling the usual blush creep over him, Dave refocused his attention on the branches above, only giving a quick glance to his Kurt's face after a few quiet seconds. Kurt’s lips were pursed in thought, and Dave realized that the other's determination would surely win over Dave's concern.

“I can get to that one,” Kurt said after a moment, pointing up at the tree. Dave followed the finger, which landed his eyes on a branch about halfway up the tree. It hung out more than the others, and Dave’s inner child realized it was, in fact, a perfect spot to climb to. However, his outer adult a reminded him that Kurt was most definitely _not_ a child, and that even his lighter weight would be worrying.

He felt eyes baring into him, so he turned back to see Kurt staring at his waist. Before he could ask, the Kurt's hands were at his hips, tugging at the sweatshirt Dave had tied around his middle. Dave watched for a moment, but turned his head away quickly, his cheeks going warm as Kurt's hands fumbled with the jacket, undoing the knot and pulling the freed garment into his hands.

“I’ll anchor myself to the branch, unless you want to sit in that crook-” Kurt’s hand moved down, “-and hold me with this." He raised the sweatshirt towards Dave. "If i’m right about this shot, I’ll only be up there for a few seconds, but if you’d prefer, you can stay on the ground to catch me if I fall. Which, I won’t,” he finished, a smirk playing on his lips.

Dave went over Kurt’s scheme in his head, and had to fight back his own grin at the thought of himself and Kurt in some faux-pully system, fifteen feet in the air. “This is, the dumbest idea you’ve ever had," he said after a moment. Letting out a chuckle, Dave rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Fine. Let’s do it.”

Kurt shot him a smile, tossing Dave’s hoodie over his shoulder.

It took a few minutes to climb up in the first place, having not realized how sparse the footing would actually be. Dave watched every step between them, and whenever he had a hand free, it hovered just behind the small of Kurt's back, ready to grab the other if something went awry. 

Sitting close to the trunk, Kurt tied a loose double knot around his waist with the sleeves as Dave settled in the crook just below him. Looking out across the lake, Dave felt his breath catch in his throat. The new height, as well as the approaching sunset, meant the entire stretch of the lake was being set ablaze in a soft golden light. It had been quite some time since he'd been out in nature, having been so focused with the rapidly approaching graduation, but now that he was witnessing something so picturesque, a sense of calming fell over him. And admittedly, even he could already tell the pictures would come out better; he kept his mouth closed to save him any "I told you so"s.

As Kurt handed Dave the end of his sweatshirt, Dave gripped it, giving it a small tug. Kurt shot Dave a small nod, then shimmied forward, slipping the camera back around his chest to point at the landscape once more. Dave watched, his grip tightening as Kurt leaned forward slightly, despite the branch showing no signs of giving. Neither of them seemed to be breathing, and all that was heard was the gentle lapping of the lake, and the familiar click of the camera shutter. Dave looked up expectantly.

Looking over his shoulder, a wide grin was plastered across Kurt’s face. Seeing this caused Dave to let out a sigh of relief, and gave the jacket some slack as Kurt steadied himself on the branch. He watched as Kurt pointed the camera back out again, snapping a few more before finally turning back around, one hand on the branch and another holding the camera.

“Potential doom was worth it,” he smiled. As he caught Dave's eyes, Dave swore he could see a small sparkle in them, and couldn't help but blush as his friend's cheeks seemed to be a little more rosy. After a few seconds, Dave feeling lost in the gaze, Kurt raised the camera to his eye as he pointed the lens at Dave. Dave made a face, sticking his tongue out at the camera, only dropping it once he heard the click. As Kurt looked at the display, his smile softened. Dave felt his heart leap in his chest.

Kurt shimmied back down the branch, slipping the knot undone and handing the jacket back to Dave, which he threw over his shoulder. Dave carefully climbed back down, landing on his feet with a thud, followed by another softer thump as Kurt descended. Dave moved to tie his sweatshirt back around his waist as Kurt walked over, standing beside him as he scrolled through the handful of pictures.

Clearly seeing the improvement, Dave nodded slowly, forcing his face to remain expressionless.

“Eh,” he said, and let out a giggle as Kurt playfully smacked his arm.


End file.
